Blast from the Past
by Paris Never Ends
Summary: His girlfriend, lover or whatever Doctor Samantha Ryan is to him is the key to find someone that he lost almost four years ago and that is Jenny Shepard.
1. Prologue

BOOM!

McGee was completely shaken as he watched the warehouse blew off. He was tapping the keyboards to find if anyone from his team survived the bomb.

He called them and asked if they were alright and where were they. He was hoping that his friends were alright but he doesn't receive any replies from them. He zoomed in a part of the screen when he saw something moving.

Tony managed to cover Ziva when the bomb went off. He turn over and laid on his back and uttered some words of pain. He asked Ziva if she was fine and she dragged him far away from the blast in response.

After they told McGee that they're alright, they all asked the same question to each other.

"Where's Gibbs?" they said in unison but in all different levels of panic and volume of voice.

The two went back to the site where the bomb went off while McGee contacted the paramedics and CSU to process the scene.

"Gibbs!" Ziva yelled.

"Boss, where are you? You can't leave me in charge yet!" Tony shouted and then he heard loud coughing and curses coming from the stack of boxes. "I found him!"

* * *

"Agent McGee, status report," the Director walked in MTAC after his conference with SecNav.

McGee was still standing in the middle of the MTAC when his Director came. He still couldn't move from his position when Tony reported that Gibbs was unconscious but still breathing when they dragged their boss out of the warehouse. He called Abby to inform that Gibbs was in Bethesda and fighting for his life. He was lost in thoughts so the Director asked the same question again. "Uh, Director – " he finally snapped back to the present time. He received a glare. "Oh, right. Dmitri Vladimir died in the blast. Ducky is now examining his burned body. Tony and Ziva are now being treated with their cuts and bruises and Gibbs is in the emergency room."

He take off his toothpick and asked, "And the weapons?"

"The FBI already took their stolen weapons and I already talked to Colonel Stevenson's daughter to tell her that her father's killer is dead."

"Good job, Agent McGee. You can now tell Abby to stop processing the evidence and go see Gibbs." He watched the young agent's eyes fill with light.

"Thank you, Sir." He smiled and turned his back to take Abby in Bethesda.

"But Agent McGee," he called his agent again.

"I want you and Abby to work tomorrow for the evidence and tell Agent DiNozzo and Agent David that they can take a leave until they are fully healed." He received a nod from his agent.

* * *

Doctor Samantha Ryan was sleeping in her bed with her son in her arms when her phone rang. She leaned to her nightstand and hesitated to answer an unknown number.

"Who's this?" She icily asked and hoped that her sleepy voice didn't take over.

"This is Ducky, Samantha." His thick Scottish accent convinced her that he really was Jethro's dear friend. She sensed that there was something wrong that is going on that's why he called in the middle of the night.

"Jethro is in trouble." She believed what she said to the good Doctor.

"Yes, my dear, he is in Bethesda right now." He was not really sure how he is going to tell her about the bombing but he knew that she will know everything when she contacts her sources. "He's still in surgery."

"Oh," she felt her heart stopped beating and felt really worried. "Thank you for informing me, Ducky." She got off the phone and carefully slid away from her son's arms. She went to Bethesda as fast as she can and called her contacts to know what happened to Jethro.

"I am Doctor Samantha Ryan from DOD's Psy Ops Division. I'm here to see Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs." She demanded.

"He got out of the operating room a few minutes ago and I'm sorry but I cannot let you in. The ICU is strictly for authorized personnel only. Visiting hours are not until eight in the morning." The head nurse stood her ground.

"I know," she glance on her name plate. "Annie, I bet all the other visitors always demand to see their … mmm… _loved_ ones…" she fished.

"Yes, they are and as far as I know, your not his family so sit down and wait right there until Agent Gibbs' visitors are allowed," the head nurse sternly answered her back and pointed the waiting area.

She knew that the head nurse wouldn't let her in so she decided to do the plan B. She fished her phone from her coat pocket and pushed the speed dial.

"Hey, Janet, it's Sam. Did I wake you up? Uh huh…. Jethro's in Bethesda right now. Yeah, _that_ Jethro… Yes, the head nurse wouldn't… Thanks…" She handed the phone to the head nurse. "The Secretary of Homeland Security wants to speak with you, Annie." She slyly smiled.

She watched the head nurse's face grew pale.

"You're lucky you have friends from high places." She said as she pushed the button to open the ICU. She is totally against this woman in front of her.

"Thanks, Annie!"

* * *

Abby left McGee in the car and ran towards the entrance of the hospital.

"Where's Gibbs! She yelled and all the people in the waiting room looked at her. Her pigtails bounced as she rushed towards the nurse's station. "Where's NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" She didn't wait for the nurse's reply and continued. She was also fishing her identification. "You know, Gibbs is a really tough guy. He doesn't go to the hospitals because he doesn't need them. He only needs Ducky, our M.E., to check on his cuts, bruises or gunshot wounds. You see? He's really Macho, like these." She raised her arms as if she has these huge muscles like Gibbs. "He's only been in the hospital for a few times. He's already in coma twice and I hope he survives this time. Oh hey, here's my I.D. I was dressed for court that day so I look different, but honestly that is really really me." She gave her best puppy eyes look. "So can I see him? Please… I'm he's favorite… He'll be happy to see me…"

The nurse didn't know what to say. Fortunately, the head nurse came back to the station. "Ma'am she wants to see Agent Gibbs from Room 1."

The head nurse looked at Abby. "I remember you Miss Abby." She smiled. "Let her in." The nurse obliged.

Abby hold the head nurse's hand. "Thank you so much, Annie. You're a really good person." She hugged her then swiftly went in the ICU, leaving a smiling Annie in the station.

* * *

The Doctor and the Goth both waited for Gibbs to wake up until Ryan told her to go home and sleep. The latter said that she will not leave Gibbs but when she took a nap on her chair, Ryan called McGee from Abby's phone to tell him to pick Abby up. The Goth didn't argue anymore when McGee wake her up and carried her to his Porsche.

Ryan slept on the chair and wake up early in the morning to go back to her son's side. She called Ducky and said that she left Jethro and Ducky replaced her position. He was talking to a sleeping - or snoring, rather - Jethro when the doctor came in.

"Doctor Mallard, it's nice to see you again but unfortunately we see each other on the same circumstances like the last time." Doctor Todd Gelfand emerged from the sliding glass door.

"Ah, Doctor Gelfand, good to see you too, how's Jethro's condition?" He stepped aside so the doctor could examine Jethro.

"For now, I can say that he's fine but we cannot really know for sure until he wakes up. This is his third coma and the risks are higher. He may wake up in days, weeks, months or even years. We can't calculate his awakening."

* * *

Gibbs was having a nightmare of Jenny. He saw her take the lives of her shooters but when she fell down on the wooden floor, he wanted to come to her side to do something, anything, to keep her alive or at least call the paramedics. But he can't move. He watched her die, alone, in that diner. He wanted to scream and yell at the world for punishing him. She left him again. She left him for good this time and she's not coming back. But under some circumstances, he heard her very soft voice, calling him and ordering him to wake up, which was so Jenny. She used to always wake him up when he had nightmares and she used to tell him that she's right there for him and everything will be alright.

He felt that his eyelids were very heavy so he slowly opened his eyes. Everything was a blur. The light was so bright that made him squint. The soft voice was calling him again then, he saw a cloudy figure of someone calling him. He saw her short hair and snow complexion. He reached for her face. She enveloped his hand with hers. He grinned. He was longing to do that ever since she came back to his life. "Jenny."

* * *

_This is my first fanfic. Is it bad or good? I'm sorry for the spelling or grammar mistakes if there are any. English is not my first language so I deeply apologize for my errors. And this is not beta'd. _


	2. Breaking the News

**Breaking the News**

* * *

It's been a week since the bombing and Gibbs is still in coma. Ryan came back for him this morning with a couple of papers that she needs to read so she will not get bored. When she saw him stirring, she reached to his side to be there for him when he wakes up.

"Jethro," her voice softly called his name. She put her hand on his shoulder to bulge him. "Jethro, I'm right here. Wake up."

He looked like he was having a nightmare and based on her experience with patients that suffered from a traumatic situation like a bombing; his nightmare is really bad, the worst maybe. She tried to calm him down.

She saw his ocean blue eyes that were full of longing and worries. She felt like he was searching for her so she leaned closer then he touched her face like he used to do. She held on to his touch, his calloused hand against her soft creamy skin. She enveloped his hands with hers and smiled at him.

She sweetly called his name again. He grinned and acknowledged her presence, "Jenny," and then her heart broke into pieces.

She fought the tear that wants to escape and breathe in deeply. She told herself that maybe he was still dreaming or his vision wasn't clear. She shook her head. He dropped his hand but he was still holding her hand.

"No, it's me, Sam. Don't you remember?" she kept her tone in a calm and low voice so she wouldn't spook him or something but she was still quite hopeful that he could remember her.

His vision became clearer. He saw the woman in front of him. She had a silver hair like him, a short hair and creamy and soft as silk skin like Jenny. Who is this woman and where is Jenny? His gut tells him that Jenny is in trouble and he needs to find her.

"Who are you?" He sounded confused. His eyebrows furrowed. The lines on his forehead deepened. He backed away and released her hand as if he was burned. He searched the room and looked for his redhead. "Where's Jenny?" he looked at her and asked again but it was louder this time. He was shouting Jenny's name. The nurses heard the disturbance and came in quickly with the doctor to sedate him. He turned to Todd. He's the only one that he knew in the room. He gripped Todd's shirt and pulled him forward so they were face to face. His dreamy blue eyes stared deeply in Todd's eyes as if he was pleading the man to release Jenny. "Where's Jenny? I _need_ to see her… Todd, where is she?"His voice was slowly getting weaker. He loosened his grip as the drugs work their magic. He laid on his back and dropped his hand on his head. He wiped his face. "I need her… I miss her so much…" His voice was weak. He was in pain. Tears fell from his eyes. He called Jenny's name over and over again until he fell asleep as if he wants her to pop up from somewhere to ease his pain and to wake him up from this nightmare.

Ryan watched the whole scenario unfold. She hadn't seen Gibbs this weak before. She knew about Shannon and Kelly, all his other ex-wives and Lt. Mann. She also knew that the former Director was his partner during their black ops mission in Europe but she didn't know – or she didn't want to believe, rather – that they are more than partners back in the day. It was just so painful to watch him call another woman's name and says that he needs that woman.

Before all of this happened, they were doing great. Her son adores him and they started to build a boat together. She felt that she was moving on with her life when he came along and then, _this_ happened. She needed to get out of there. She needs some air. She needs to calm her mind so she can think straight.

* * *

Gibbs woke up a few hours after the incident this morning. He glanced on his right to watch the bright afternoon sun from the clear glass windows. He tried to sit up straight and grunted when he felt the pain on his rib. His hand automatically brushed the part of his broken rib.

"Agent Gibbs," Todd called him from the door. He stood on the left of the bed with the patient's chart on his hands. "We already fixed your broken rib. It should get better after 3 weeks. You are lucky that it didn't hit your lung. Now, I want you to tell me the last thing that you remember."

Gibbs knit his brows and tried to recall. He filled in the doctor about the boat and the Abu Sayaf but he didn't go to the detailed part of the mission. He also told Todd that he remembered that Todd was his doctor before during the war. Todd stated that Gibbs has a minor amnesia and explained that everything that Gibbs recalled is what happened almost six years ago but he said that it was normal for patients that experienced another traumatic event like a bombing. Before Todd walked out of the room, Gibbs asked him if it was normal to have a very realistic dream as if it really happened. Todd told him to elaborate and Gibbs explained that he had vicious dreams of Jenny's death. Todd's eyes grew darker and silence wrapped around the room.

Finally he spoke, "I cannot tell you anything about that, Agent Gibbs." He quickly left and dialed the M.E.'s number.

* * *

Ducky received a phone call from Doctor Gelfand, saying that Jethro already woke up and they could visit him soon. He asked the doctor if he could bring the team and he received an affirmative reply to that.

They were in the waiting room when Doctor Gelfand came to see them. He told them about the _incident_ this morning and according to him, Gibbs doesn't remember what happened to him after his last coma and he seemed to have dreams of Jenny's death. He also told them that Gibbs wants to see Jenny to confirm if she's alright and he thought that he is not in the position to tell Gibbs about Jenny's death. He warned the team that they shouldn't stress him out and maybe avoid the topic about Jenny.

The doctor walked first into his room and found Gibbs in a sitting position with a scowl on his face.

"Hey, Doc, when are you going to release me?" He gruffly questioned.

"You need to recuperate Agent Gibbs. We also need to do some more tests…" A nurse came in and told Doctor Gelfand that he is needed in the emergency room immediately. The doctor told Gibbs that he will talk to him later about the tests. When the doctor got out, he told the team that they could come in but he warned them again not to stress out Gibbs.

Ducky came in first followed by Abby who ran towards to Gibbs and hugged him but she didn't gave him her usual tight hug. She received a grin from him then he pecked her cheek, "Nice to see you too, Abs."

"Gibbs! I'm so glad that you're alive! I come here every day and when I see you sleeping in that bed, I prayed that you will wake up soon. And now you're already awake! I just so happy Gibbs! Bert also tags along when I come here and –"

"Abs," Gibbs stopped her and placed his hands on her shoulder. "Slow down."

"Oh right, I miss you, Gibbs." She happily announced and hugged him again which made Gibbs chuckle.

"Jethro, I am delighted to see that you are fully awake from your slumber." Ducky grinned and patted his friend's shoulder. He received a "Thanks, Duck," in return.

Ziva showed him a large food container. "I brought steak. I know that their food here is tasteless."

"That looks great, Ziva." He commented.

"It tastes great too." She earned a chuckle in return.

"Hey Boss, I brought some DVDs that can get you out of your boredom." Tony wiggled the DVDs in his hands.

"The only thing that I want to get out of is this room, DiNozzo." He tried to be cold and gruff to his senior field agent.

"Well, that's gonna take a long time."

"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs felt better. He felt like he was his old self again.

"It's good to see you, Boss" Tim supplied. "Abby and I thought that you could use this if you want to contact us. I've also connected –" he stopped when he saw that Gibbs wants him to get down to the point. "Uh… It's an Ipad. Abby could you help me explain this to Gibbs?" The geek and the Goth taught Gibbs about the Ipad thingy.

While the two kept Gibbs occupied, the others thought of other things to discuss with Gibbs so that they could avoid discussing Jenny but after sometime, they saw Gibbs looking at the door.

"You ok, Boss?" Tony observed his Boss' musings.

"When will Jen come? Is she doing paperwork again?" he looked annoyed. He knew that paperwork is the only thing that keeps her to stay in her office. He glanced at his agents who all looked pale and started whispering.

* * *

The four went to a corner of the room…

"Why don't you tell him yourself, Tony…" Ziva hissed and poked her partner.

"Well, you're the assassin. You can fight him back." Tony inquired.

"Why not McGee, then?" she pointed at the younger agent with her thumb.

"Hey, I'm not the Probie anymore." McGee tried to walk away from the situation.

"Abby you're the favorite. He wouldn't get angry at you." Ziva tried to convince the Goth.

"You're right and I want to stay that way, Ziva," then she turned to Tony. "Do we really need to tell Gibbs? Can't we just let him gain his memories back?"

"We can't do that. He'll figure out that we're hiding something." Tony explained to Abby.

"And talking in a corner of the room makes his suspicions correct, Tony," she replied.

* * *

Gibbs knew that there is something going on. He knew that they avoided discussing Jenny. While his agents and Abby were whispering in the corner, Ducky filled the silence and told him stories about his youth until Gibbs stopped him.

"Where is she, Duck?" Gibbs eyed his friend. He knew that Ducky knew the answer.

Ducky stood up from his chair and walked closer to Jethro's bed. He sighed. "Jethro, it's not good for you to be stress out."

"Stop avoiding the question, Duck." He _really _wanted to stop this nonsense.

"You don't really remember?" Ducky hoped that Jethro could at least remember anything since his last coma.

"Ya think, Duck?" Now, Gibbs sounded annoyed.

The good M.E. tried to jog his friend's brain, "William's funeral, L.A., Viggo, the diner, Mike Franks, anything at all?" He hinted.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and looked confused. He remembered his nightmares and then the light bulb lit up. "The diner. She was there. There were four gunmen." He recalled. His pupils dilated as he remembered what happened. He figured out that it wasn't just a nightmare. It was his memory. That diner was her death bed. She died in there, alone and he was hundred miles away from her. She ditched her detail. If he just pushed further to make her decide that he could come along with her before that day, he should be her protection detail and he could have prevented her death.

_Gibbs barged in her office for the umpteenth time that day, "What now, Jen?" he demanded an explanation for interrupting him in interrogation._

_She stood up from her leather chair and stopped herself from continuing her paperwork at the drop of a hat. Her face did not contain any emotions but she looked pale. Her eyes were guarded. She clenched her jaw after she spoke, "William Decker is dead."_

_He loosened up a bit and wiped his face. Decker was one of his agents before Jenny came along. He breathed out deeply and waited for the continuation of the story._

"_I'm going to his funeral tomorrow. Tell Tony and Ziva that they're coming with me as my detail." She kept her straight face but deep inside she knew that he knew that she is troubled somehow._

"_I'll go with you." His gut told him that something bad is going to happen and he should go with her._

"_No, you've done enough." Then, she saw him flinched. She knew those words hit home as she recalled that moment when she asked him to stay during Carson's case."You only need McGee to finish the case. Go now, Jethro." She dismissed him. She can no longer hold her straight face when she saw rejection in his eyes._

_He willingly obliged and slammed the door as he left. _

He should have pushed her to let him come. He should have trusted his gut and followed her. And now, he can't erase the image in his head where he saw her pool of blood in that diner.

"No, she didn't…" He denied. He hoped it was just a nightmare.

Ducky saw his friend struggling. He didn't know how to comfort Jethro. His friend was more gruff and silent after her death. He knew that his friend didn't want anyone to see him weak. He knew that Jethro had been drinking bourbon in his basement and all his frustrations were unfortunately centered on his new agents. But he also knew that his friend needs someone to voice out the confirmation. So he looked straight in his friend's cerulean blue eyes and spoke with all the sadness that can envelop the words that he will say, "she's gone, Jethro."

His heart was pounding very fast. He hoped he heard it wrong. Jenny is gone. She left him for good. She's not coming back. His breathing increased, his mouth went dry and his pupils dilated. Cold sweat came out of his forehead. His hands were shaking and he grew paler. Everything seemed to blur. His head was swirling. He held Ducky's arm. He heard shouts and beeping and everything went black.

* * *

The quadruplets were still whispering in the corner until Tony saw the intense conversation that the two friends had. He felt really concerned and then the other three glanced at his gaze.

"I think Ducky did it for us." He voiced out his thoughts.

"I think Gibbs figure it out by himself. Ducky only helped him by leading the way." Ziva pointed out.

"I think we should go. Gibbs wouldn't want us to see him like this." He said nervously. If they kept on watching and Gibbs wasn't sick, he'll head slap them to the future.

Abby face him. "I think you're right, McGee."

They quietly crept out of the room since the two adults were having a very serious conversation. Abby was the last one to get out but when she was going to close the door, Ducky shouted at her. She saw Gibbs getting pale and shaking. She panicked and didn't know what to do. She bumped onto McGee and told him to call a doctor immediately. It all happened very fast. The doctor and nurses went in Gibbs' room in just a drop of a hat. They surrounded him and the doctor started barking orders. She couldn't see what was happening to Gibbs until she saw the doctor was resuscitating her El Jefe. She gasped. Tears were falling onto her cheeks. She almost fell on the floor but luckily McGee caught her.

One of the nurses told them that they should go to the waiting room and the nurse assured them that they are doing their best to keep him alive. McGee dragged her in the waiting room. She was still looking past her shoulder until she can no longer see the glass walls of Gibbs' room.

* * *

_I've noticed that Gibbs was a bit soft during his coma and post coma days so I kind of applied it here… and yes, I patterned his third coma to his previous one. :)_

_Thank you so much for all of your reviews! It means a lot to me. I am apologizing again for all my errors. _


	3. Knowing the Other Woman

**Knowing the Other Woman**

* * *

Doctor Ryan was holding two cups of coffee when she entered the waiting room. She saw the whole team sitting there.

McGee was trying hard to comfort Abby. He was rubbing her back while she was crying on his shoulder. Ryan could hear the younger man's comforting words such as _"He's going to be fine, Abs."_

Ziva and Tony were sitting beside them. Ryan knew that Ziva doesn't let her guard down but for this particular situation, she was letting Tony placed his hand on her back. She was not crying like Abby. She and Tony were whispering and she told him that Gibbs was like a father to her and she doesn't want him to … and she did not continue anymore.

Ryan sat beside Ducky and handed him the other coffee cup. She knew that there is something terrible that happened while she was gone. And she wanted to find out what that is. She faced the good doctor and looked straight to his blue orbs.

"How bad is it, Ducky?" She placed her elbows on her knees and leaned in.

He sighed and stared on the floor. "We almost lost him. The doctor resuscitated him." The sadness in his voice filled the long moment of silence in the room.

She thought hard to what might trigger such response. She recalled at what happened earlier in the morning. She gasped. "He found out about Jenny." She said in shock.

He quickly returned his gaze at her with so much confusion. "How did you know?"

She thought the doctor told them that she was here when he woke up. "I was here this morning… when he woke up." She took a sip of her coffee. "He was finding her… and he doesn't remember me." She tried to hide that she was kind of hurting inside but the man in front of her seemed to read her like a book.

He knew about their relationship even though neither of them told him. He knew it must've been bothering her that Jethro is finding another woman instead of her. He tapped her hand to comfort her. "Don't worry, Samantha. He will soon remember you. It's just that he and Jennifer were…" he regretted that he started that sentence. He should have known better not to mention Jennifer in front Samantha especially Jennifer's relation to Jethro. But he knew this woman in front of him would not let it go.

That caught her attention. She wanted to know who Jenny is in Jethro's life although she had suspicions. She was waiting for his continuation. "They were what, Ducky?"

Ducky knew he was right, she would not let it go. He sighed deeply. He didn't know if he was in the position to tell her. He wasn't also sure what kind of relationship Jethro and Jennifer had. He knew they were more than partners during black ops missions in Europe and his assumptions turned out to be true when Jethro rang him after he got back to DC. He assumed that Jethro was really drunk at that time and he didn't know what he could do for his friend. Jethro kept on saying that she left him with a Dear John letter. His friend also mentioned that he missed running his finger through her soft and long red curls. And his friend even mentioned her _sparkly_ green eyes. He cannot believe that Jethro used the word _sparkly_.

And well, Jennifer called couple of months after Jethro called. She was crying and telling him that maybe she made the wrong decision. He wanted to slap himself when he slipped that Jethro is getting married again. But that seemed to calm her down and thank him.

When she came back he didn't knew what the two really are for each other. The two fight like there's no tomorrow and yet they were so protective of each other. He knew that she stayed all day and night on his side when he was in coma. He also knew that Jethro will move the mountains when her life in is trouble. And then there was the time that Jenny asked him to escort her to the Marine Corps Birthday and told him that she wanted to ask Jethro but she felt like he hadn't forgiven about her decision in Paris.

He sighed again. He looked at Samantha and decided to tell her the truth. "They were… complicated." He saw that she prepared herself for a different answer. Her body language changed. "I can never really name what they are to each other but what I'm sure of, is that they would do anything for each other even if it means that they need to sacrifice their life to save the other." He took a sip of the coffee and coughed. "What is this swill?"

She laughed. "Jethro's coffee. I thought you acquired his taste."

"Oh dear," he made a face and put the coffee into the bin "I never dreamed of drinking his coffee. Only Jennifer seemed to 'acquire' the taste of it," he sat down.

_Now I'm competing with a ghost,_ she thought. Luckily the doctor came in to tell them Jethro's condition. He told them that Gibbs experienced a panic attack due to the fact that Jenny is dead. On the positive side, his outburst helped him recover his memories. Gelfand talked to Gibbs for half an hour and he confirmed that Gibbs remembers everything including his very short affair with Jenny after Gibbs' coma. Right now, Gibbs is sleeping because of the meds that he gave.

* * *

The team were there for a half an hour when dispatch called Tony. They left Ryan sitting beside Gibbs.

She woke up from her slumber when her phone rang.

"Ryan." she yawned, "yup… that's her… just her background…" She stood up from her chair and walked towards the window. "You could send me the files… mm hmmm …" She moved the curtains to see the view outside. "What!" she raised her voice. She must be hearing different. "Are you sure?" her sources confirmed. "Jenny Shepard is still alive?"

She said it like a whisper but it was loud enough to make both blue eyes open.

He quickly closed his eyes when he saw in his peripheral vision that she turned to look at his sleeping figure. He hoped his breathing was even by now even if he felt like his heart was pumping excess blood again. He tried to listen to her voice to gain information.

"I just want to make sure...Good… Find her…"she ended the call and retreated back to her chair.

He decided that it was better if she finds Jenny first before he interrogates her.

* * *

It's been two weeks since he heard Ryan's phone call and he's still in the freaking hospital. He already had the reputation as the most stubborn patient that the assigned nurse had. He wanted steak not some mushy gooey substance that they called soup. He clearly informed them that his teeth are fine so he is very capable of grinding the steak.

Lucky for him, the team had been visiting him during their free time. Ziva had been bringing him normal food such as steak, homemade burgers and others. Tony and Tim had been ordering Chinese sometimes. Ducky and Abby had been telling him stories about the team but Abby has the exaggerated version. Tobias had been visiting him too just to talk to him about him and Diane's new misunderstanding concerning Emily having a pony.

His friends were entertaining him as much as they can and he is thankful for that. But if only Jenny was here, she would argue with him or fight with him which was good because at least he knows that he's really alive. She'll also whine about the sister agencies, tons of paperwork, her security details or even Tony copying him. That would be fun to hear. God, he misses her but there's no way that he'll show that _again_ since the team saw his outburst.

To give something in return, he's been giving the team some advices about the case and head slaps to help them work faster but mostly head slaps since he releases his frustrations through his palm that contacts the back of their heads. Ryan also comes and goes from time to time to check on him and he gets some sleep _purposely_ whenever she's around.

It was an ungodly hour when she had another call from her informant. She answered her phone in his room, knowing that her lover was still sleeping.

"No, I'll be there tomorrow. I want to receive the files by myself. No… He's still recovering... Okay, bye."

* * *

That morning, Ryan came back to his room. She was holding a folder that has a large 'confidential' on it and a fresh cup of coffee. She sat on the chair beside the windows and read the file. She was so consumed by what the file says about _her_ that she didn't noticed that Jethro was already awake and staring at her.

He was watching her read those files and when she sipped her coffee, their eyes met. She put down the cup and cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't notice that you're awake." She put down the file on the chair and walked towards him. She stopped at his right side and sat down beside him. He pushed himself up to move into a sitting position. Now, they're on each other's eye level.

He looked at the file. "What's that?"He asked with a raised eye brow.

"Work." He knew that she lied. "Nothing important," she added another lie.

"Can I read it?" he stared at the file.

"No," she shook her head. "It's need to know."

There was a long moment of silence between them and it was like a staring competition. Gibbs decided that he had waited enough. It's been two weeks and he wanted to know about that midnight conversation.

"I know that Jenny's alive." His face was stone cold.

She just breathed deeply without breaking eye contact. She knew that he's not fishing. "I should've known you were awake by then." She was tensed.

"You shouldn't have yelled." He replied with the same tone that she used.

She looked down and nodded. Now, the whole scenario replayed in her mind. She forgot that he's a light sleeper.

"Where is she?" he hid his emotions inside and treated her as if she was being interrogated by him.

She shook her head but still keeping the eye contact. "I can't. You know I can't."

He released a sarcastic chuckle. "You can't? Don't give me _that_ excuse." His voice was a little louder this time.

"Well, you can't just pop out there, Jethro!" Her voice was matching his and she was now standing.

He leaned forward. "She's out there and alone for four years!" He reasoned out.

"Well, she's also been out there and alone for _six_ years before she became the Director!"

He didn't flinched by the raise of her tone. "You read her previous files." He accused instead.

"Of course I read her previous files!" she said as if it was very obvious and then she saw his eyes soften as if he was recalling his days with the woman in question. "Why do you care so much about her, Jethro?" Her voice was gentle. She wanted to ask that question ever since Ducky told her that Jenny and Jethro's relationship was complicated.

"We're partners," that was his bitter answer but when she looked at those cerulean blue eyes she knows that there's more than that.

"You love her," it was a hard pill to swallow but based on his facial expression and body language, she knew she hit the right target. "I am right, am I? After all these years you still love that woman who left you in Paris." After she said that, she wanted to take it back but it's too late now.

She saw him stiffen. She crossed the line. She readied herself to receive a glare, a shout or anything that can hurt her verbally and emotionally but he just leaned back and wiped his face.

"You don't know anything about Jen." It was the first time that he called her, Jen, after her death. Another round of silence game passed. They were not looking at each other anymore.

"So…" she finally broke the silence. "This is it then," after she said that her gaze fell on him. She wasn't surprised that he was already looking at her.

"I really like you, Sam." It was true. He had fun with her. He doesn't need to hide anything to her since her clearance can simply check his past and her psychological side can read his mind but sometimes he feels that he needed some privacy and some secret that she shouldn't know. And there's only one woman who understands completely what privacy and secrets meant.

She sighed. She thought he's the one who will help her move on but she just realized now that he just opened her eyes and showed her that she can have a second chance in love. It just sucks that he already found his second chance more than a decade ago.

He watched her take the file and put it on top of the covers. Her eyes locked with his. "I can't do this anymore, Jethro." She softly informed him. She cupped his cheek and placed a gentle quick kiss on his lips. She rested her forehead with his and her eyes drifted on his lips. "Thank you, Jethro for making me believe in second chances." She released herself from him.

He watched her go and turn the knob but when she was closing the door, she stopped and looked at him for the last time. "Don't let her go again, Jethro."

He reached for the file that Ryan left and opened it. The first thing he searched for was Jenny's location and he cannot believe where she is.

He knit his brows. "She's in Stillwater?"

* * *

_Ryan's gone! It's not like I hate the woman but I'm more of a Jenny shipper so I don't like Gibbs 'hanging out' with others. Okay, that sounded like I'm a jealous girlfriend. _

_What do you think Jenny had been doing in Gibbs' hometown?_

_Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Oh, and I don't own NCIS. _


	4. Goodbyes and Hellos

**Goodbyes and Hellos**

* * *

It's been a month since he received Jenny's file and he didn't tell anyone about it even Ducky. When he's alone, he reads the file over and over again to the point that he already memorized the entire file. But that's not really hard since half of the file is about all about Jenny, her birthday, family background, her father's death, her road to success. The other half is work-related like the La Granouille, Operation Loadstone, Svetlana Chernitskaya and her death in the diner.

But of all the things that he read, there's only one that stood out. The paper about her 'afterlife'. It doesn't say much.

It only had a stolen picture of what she looks like now, after four years. She still looked beautiful. She dyed her hair chestnut brown like what she used to do when they were undercover in Europe and she let her curls grow just below her shoulders but she kept her bangs. In the photo, she was wearing formal attire and a briefcase so he wondered what she does now.

It also stated the she lives two blocks away from his father's shop and it's just a walking distance. Maybe she knew his father by now but how come he didn't see her during his visits in his hometown. He made a mental note to ask her about that.

All in all, the only useful details that he doesn't already know are her new address and her new appearance.

He can't wait to be released tomorrow. The first thing that he will do is to file for a few weeks vacation since he haven't got a vacation since he helped his dad rebuild the shop and he was just gone for a week. Based on his calculations, he still has five months vacation.

* * *

It was an early morning when he came down from the Director's office and found his team doing the usual. Tony was throwing crumpled papers at Tim and Ziva was her cleaning weapon while threatening Tony that she will shoot him if he will throw those papers at her.

He decided to tell them after he told Ducky and Abby.

Ducky already knew that he was coming. "Good to see you again, Jethro!" he greeted his friend even though his eyes were glued to the dead petty officer.

"Hey, Duck. I'm going to Stillwater. Be back in a few weeks." That was all he said and when Ducky turned around, he was no longer there.

His next top was Abby.

"Abs!" He shouted when he reached her lair.

She quickly launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. "Gibbs you're back!" She bounced. "Are you here for the dead petty officer William Andrews? I haven't finished the ballistics yet and the fingerprints –"

"Abs!" he cut her off. "I'm not back yet."

"But you're here. So, you're back." She replied and said it as if it was so obvious.

"No…" he lowered his voice and produced a Caf-Pow! on her table. "I was just giving you that." He answered.

"No?" she knit her brows and then the light bulb went on. "Oh no! You're not retiring again, are you? You can't retire Gibbs! There are a lot of bad guys out there like petty officer Andrew's killer! We need you to catch those –" she stopped when Gibbs put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm going to see Dad." He pecked her cheek.

"Oh…" then she wrapped her arms around Gibbs again. "Take care, El Jefe! Call me when you get there!" she shouted as he walked out the door. She heard a "yeah, Abs!" in the hallway.

He headslapped Tony when he got to the bullpen.

"Thank you, Boss. I will never put strawberry jam into McGee's hair gel." He said calmly, sat up straight and admitted his prank.

"You put strawberry jam in my hair gel?" Tim quickly dropped the hair gel and wiped off the gel on his hair.

Gibbs grabbed his badge, gun and other things in his desk.

"Do we have a new lead with the dead petty officer, Boss?" Tony started to grab his gear and so did the others.

"No. I'm going to Stillwater." He was waiting for the elevator when he gave his last order, "wipe that smirk off your face, DiNozzo!"

"Yes, Boss. I'm going to cry now because you're gone." He changed his mood when he saw Gibbs get in the lift. He turned to Ziva. "Who's in charge now? Huh?" He mocked Ziva but she's just shooting daggers at him and literally if he wouldn't stop. But just stood up from his chair and raised his hands in the air. "Who's in charge now? I am! Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo! I'm in char – " he sang then he received a headslap. He grew pale. "Boss I thought you're in the elevator." He said without looking back.

"He is. He called me to headslap you when you need a head slap." Abby explained innocently and hopped off to her lab.

* * *

He decided not to tell anyone including his father why he was going to his hometown. As far as the agency knows, he was there to visit his father. But being the Director, Vance pushed for more details and he just replied, "Can't a son visit his Dad once in a while?" Vance didn't argue anymore.

He arrived in Stillwater with his Dodge Challenger. He stopped in front of his father's shop for his surprise visit. He killed off the engine and stepped out. He pulled out his duffel bags in the trunk and headed straight to the door. He pushed the door open with his other hand and the chimes rang causing the two people inside to look at him.

He raised his eyebrows at what he saw and then grinned.

"That's not the way to greet your old man and a beautiful woman, Leroy." Jasper put the jar of strawberry jam down and helped his son with his duffel bags.

"I got it." He tried to shove off his dad.

"Look at this man, he just saw you then he decided that he's strong enough for me to help him." He told the beautiful woman.

He rolled his eyes at his dad. "Hey, I didn't asked for help." He informed his old man.

The woman just chuckled at their antics. "This must be your son that you've been talking about." She grinned and her deep forest green eyes sparkled.

The older Gibbs turned to answer her but the younger Gibbs cut him off. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs." He offered his hand.

"Jennica Shermon," she shook his hand, "nice to finally meet you, _Leroy_." She teased.

"Nice to see you _again_, Jenny." He grinned and he didn't let go of her hand and kept on shaking it.

* * *

It was 0900 in a Saturday morning when she woke up. She slept later than the usual. She slipped out of her bed and made a beeline to her kitchen. She automatically went straight to the coffee maker but when she reached for her pack of coffee, she saw that it is already gone. She groaned. She hated mornings without coffee. She went upstairs again to her in suite bathroom and started to shower. She decided to drop by in a coffee shop and then go straight to the shop nearby to buy coffee and other things.

When she got out of her cold shower, she dried and wrapped herself into a red towel. She picked out a tight faded jeans and white short-sleeved oxford. She popped out two buttons to look more casual and she matched her attire with a pair of white wedge heels. She tied her hair in to a ponytail and let a few tendrils down. She put on a smoky dark brown eye shadow and a light red lipstick. She finished her do with a light brown blush on.

She grabbed her purse, checked the room across her bedroom then she locked the doors and headed out.

She made a quick call while she was waiting for her coffee in a coffee shop two blocks away from her home. After her call ended, she got her coffee and went to shop nearby.

With her coffee in hand, she pushed the door open with the other hand. The chimes rang and a very familiar face greeted her good morning.

"Good morning to you too, Jack." She smiled.

"What can I do for a beautiful woman like you in this morning?" Jack propped his elbows on the counter.

"I ran out of coffee this morning." She offered the answer. She started picking out her favorite brand of coffee then turn to the strawberry jam and other things.

When she got to the counter again to purchase the all the things that she needed to buy, Jack was looking at one of the picture frames.

"Which photo are you looking at?" she asked to announce her presence again.

He took the frame and showed it to her.

It was a photo of younger Gibbs. "Ah, the famous, Leroy." She recalled the stories about him from Jack.

"Uh-huh. That was before he joined the Marines," he answered the question in her eyes.

Her fingers ran along the face of Leroy and it lingered there for a moment. He looked so young and handsome in his football uniform. She didn't realize that Jack was already starting to check her groceries.

"He's a good lad, you know." Jack got her out of her thoughts. "He's single too," he added.

He caught her off guard. She put the frame back on the counter and raised her eyebrows at him. She put her hands on her hips. "Jackson Gibbs are you planning to make your boy date me?" she mocked.

He shrugged. "I'm just saying that you two would be perfect for each other. You're single. He's single. There nothing wrong about it." He grinned.

She leaned in. Her right elbow rested on the counter while her left had rested on her hip. She whispered, "Well, we will never know… he's not here."

He grabbed the strawberry jam and leaned in too. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything else, a familiar figure walked in with duffel bags in his hands. A familiar figure that they both know. "I guess we'll know now." His voice matched her whisper.

"That's not the way to greet your old man and a beautiful woman, Leroy." She heard him greet his son. She was still in her last position and she looked like she was a deer caught in the headlights.

"I got it." She heard his voice. His voice that she thought that she will never hear again. His voice made her straighten up and look presentable to him but her hand is still on her hip. She cannot believe that he's still stubborn after all these years and still proving to her that he's still strong enough to carry those two large duffel bags.

Wait. Two large duffel bags? He's going to stay for a long period of time? She was lost in thoughts when Jack turned to her and told her, "Look at this man, he just saw you then he decided that he's strong enough for me to help him." She suppressed a chuckle.

She saw him roll his eyes at his dad. "Hey, I didn't ask for help."

She just chuckled at their antics. "This must be your son that you've been talking about." She grinned and her deep forest green eyes sparkled. She decided that she'll play the I-didn't-know-your-son game.

She saw Jack wanted to introduce her but his son's mouth was faster. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs." He offered his hand. She was contemplating if she will shake it. She bit her lip. She didn't realize that she's already blushing.

She took a deep breath and reached out. "Jennica Shermon," she shook his hand. She almost slipped so she quickly added, "nice to finally meet you, _Leroy_." She teased knowing he'll hate it.

What was she thinking? Why is she flirting with him? She wants to head slap herself for this. When she saw that sparkle in his eyes, she knew that he knew that she's alive before he saw her. So, who cares if he knew? Oh right… a bunch of other people will give a damn if he knows and they'll tell her that she shouldn't do what she's doing right now because her safety will be compromised.

But she didn't care about those people who pretend to care because the moment that her hand touched his, she didn't want to let go.

"Nice to see you _again_, Jenny" he grinned. He definitely knew that she's alive, she thought.

She knew she should drop his hand now because they're not shaking hands anymore but she still can't let go. Both of them were grinning like a fool, lost in their own world.

Jack finally broke the silence and announced his presence. "I'm still here, kids."

* * *

_I'm blushing when I read what I just wrote. I'm grinning like a fool right now. Is this chapter good? _

_I don't know where I got Jennica but I got Sherman when I mashed up Shepard and Harmon. _

_I can't believe that I finished this one already. __Thank you for your reviews people! I do not own NCIS. Seriously, people. I. Do. Not. Own. It!_

_P.S. You've gotta love Jackson Shepard. I think he's cool. Or I'll make him cool here..._


	5. Questions and Answers

**Questions and Answers 1**

* * *

_Jack finally broke the silence and announced his presence."I'm still here, kids."_

Jenny was blushing but she just chuckled in response and Gibbs just rolled his eyes at his father.

"What?" He mocked innocently. "Are you gonna let go of her hand now, Leroy?" His gaze fell onto their holding hands.

"Nah," He shrugged and inclined his head at her. "I'm waiting for her to let go… actually."

"Well, you could give me my hand back right now… actually." She retorted and lifted an eyebrow at him.

He obliged but it was against his wishes. Although he let go of her hand, his gaze didn't leave her. They were still staring at each other's eyes.

To be honest with himself, he doesn't want to hold her hand only and be in an awkward situation like this. He wanted to hug her and hold onto her and never let her go to make sure that she's really alive and that this is not just one of his fantasies. He wanted to kiss her like the kisses they shared during their extracurricular activities in Europe. He wanted to push back those tendrils of her hair to tuck it in her ear and let his hand liger on her face for a moment. But he also wanted to yell at her for leaving again for the second time without giving him a warning this time. Even though he hated that damned Dear John letter at least he knew that she was away for another mission. Did he receive any letter telling him that she's away? No, he didn't. He just received a call from DiNozzo_,_ _of all people_, telling that she's dead and he wanted to yell at her face to get back at her but he just can't do it because of that smirk on her face that he wanted to wipe off with a long passionate kiss that can make her knees weak and hold onto him.

When he let go of her hand, she smirked knowing that she won the banter this time and she wouldn't let the two Gibbs know that she was disappointed at what he did. She really missed his calloused hand travelling on her body and she missed how he uses it to her. She tried so hard not to go to that memory right now but she just can't help it and she knew that they're sharing the same memory of those extracurricular activities right now like when they met each other in MTAC for the first time in six years. She missed tangling her hand in his silver hair and trailing her kisses from his lips down to the south. She missed waking up in the morning and watching him sleep. She wanted to kiss him right now in front of his father to wipe off his smirk with a long passionate kiss that can make her knees weak and hold onto him.

She wanted to launch herself at him right now but Jack interrupted their fantasies again. "Here are your groceries, Jenny." He grinned and pulled them out of their reverie.

She quickly stopped herself from looking at those deep ocean blue eyes of his and decided that it's better to leave right now before she can't stop herself to do things to him that his father definitely didn't want to see and interrupt.

She thanked Jack instead and announced her adieus. She gathered her things and her brain to leave now before Jack could offer her to stay for coffee and small talk. But before she left, she gave him one last smile. She knew that he knows what that meant and she will just wait at her house for a couple of hours or hopefully minutes for him to show up.

He caught that unspoken invitation of hers when she smiled. He turned at his father who looked like he was waiting for an explanation.

"What?" he snapped annoyingly.

"I know that look, Leroy." His father warned him.

"What look?" he asked irritatingly.

Jack sighed and shook his head. "The last time that I saw you look at a woman like that is the last time I saw you look at Shannon after you returned from your sniper training." He stated. "Tell me. Why are you here, Leroy?"

He just told him what he told Vance as an excuse. "Can't a son visit his old man once in a while?"

Jack snorted. "Oh that's not a bad thing to do son. But it is suspicious. How long are you gonna stay?" he sounded hopeful.

"A couple of months," He answered while he was walking to grab his duffel bags.

His father sensed that hell must be freezing right now. "Months? What did you do, Leroy?" He used the tone that fathers use to scold their little five year olds.

"Nothin'" he said in response.

"Boy, my store was shot at almost two years ago and you only stayed for a week. There must be something going on that's why you're staying here."

"I almost died again." His voice was icy cold. He never liked answering these silly questions of his dad. "Thought I'd drop by," he reasoned out but it was true for that matter. He didn't just go here for Jenny. He really wanted to see his dad again so he was killing two birds with one stone.

His father didn't say anything in return. Jack just hugged his Leroy and pulled away. "I know that you want to go after her. I'll just put your bags in your room." He offered.

He grinned. Though they haven't seen each other for a long time, his father can still read him sometimes. "Thanks, Dad."

He was about to head to the door when his dad called him. He turned around and faced him again.

"I've got some word for you, Leroy." He proposed.

"Dad, I've been married _four_ times. I don't think that I need your advice." He rejected.

"Yeah, and you've been divorced _three_ times." He teased. His son groaned. "That girl was really hurt when she moved here. She's not just someone you can divorce with, Leroy. She's too kind unlike Diane, too fun than that second ex-wife of yours and too strong than Stephanie."

He chuckled at his dad's evaluation of his ex-wives. He nodded. "I know, Dad." He left.

He didn't know what kind of hurt was his father was talking about but he knew that he was right that she's not someone that he can divorce with. Jenny's different. She's really different from his ex-wives and she's very different from Shannon. Most importantly, she didn't try to replace Shannon unike the others.

He walked towards her house while thinking of what he should say to her but before he could think of a solid thing to say, he already reached her house.

He was about to knock when she opened the door. She was startled for a second then smiled. "Well that's a quick talk with your Dad." She observed and stood aside to let him in.

Her house was like her townhouse that he burned almost four years ago. It was two-storey. The staircase was wide that has a matching carpet on the floor. It seemed that her study is on the left and her living room is on the right and her dining area and kitchen are on the back part of the house. The place seemed too big for her alone.

She watched him scan her hallway with his back at her and realized that he must've been thinking why her house is too big for her. She decided to answer his unspoken question to get him out of his reverie. "I'm not the only one who lives here." He looked surprised at that statement. She walked to her study and made a beeline towards her liquor cabinet. She offered him their favorite amber beverage and continued, "but I'm alone for the moment." She teased him with her flirtatious smirk. She sat on her leather armchairs and pointed him to sit down on the armchair opposite of her.

He watched her drink her bourbon with her very exposed neck. "Am I the only one who's going to talk here, _Leroy_?" she purred and wrinkled her nose. He groaned at the use of his name. She chuckled at his way of response.

"Why are you here, Jen?" His eyes were looking for answers. Those were the eyes that she sees during interrogation. But the difference is, he appeared to be very comfortable in that armchair with his bourbon on his knee.

She was expecting that question but she didn't expect to be asked this sooner. "I'm hiding." She replied casually.

"Jen…" he warned.

"I'm telling the truth." She knew he knew that.

He snorted. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Tell me something you do know." She retorted and used his words against him.

He glared at her. "You know that the glare is not working at me." She sipped her bourbon and continued, "Riley McCallister's trial." She give what he's looking for but she knew he wanted some detailed explanation.

He knit his brows.

"I wanted to find out who told Svetlana that you killed Anatoli and it's easier to do if your enemies think that you're dead. With my acquired talents in the field, I narrowed it down to our very loyal predecessors." She said sarcastically knowing that somebody stabbed them at the back. "I warned Leon and Eli that it can be McCallister but they didn't believe me at first so they held the conference of retired agents to review the Director's works." She emptied her glass. "Leon didn't want them to review my cases knowing that it might tip off McCallister. So, here I am, hiding in your hometown because I'm a very important witness and I think McCallister wouldn't look here." She said without a doubt.

"Why here?" he finally said something after her very long explanation.

"I feel safe here." She knew he wanted more but she's not ready yet to tell him that. She traced the patterns of her crystalline glass.

"I haven't seen you here when I'm here."

"You were here on September. I moved here on November." She answered without her eye twitching. "I was on the run before that but since _you_ caught McCallister, I moved here for good." She added. "And I told Leon to call me if you're going here."

"But he didn't call." He caught her deer in the headlights look in the shop that means she didn't know that he was coming.

She shook her head. "He did... He called after I left the shop. He's never good with his timing, isn't he?" She mused but she was lost in her own world after that.

He remembered that look in her eyes. It was his warning that something big will burst and shock him. Most of the time, something terrible comes after when she got out of her world and stare at him.

And here it is. He already plastered his poker face and readied himself from what she was going to say.

Her deep forest greens were withholding tears as it collided with his endless guarded ocean blues.

She dropped the bomb. "You need to know why I left you in Paris."

He didn't expect that. He thought that it was better for both of them if she didn't tell him because he didn't know if he can survive knowing the reason why she left him but it would kill him inside too if he didn't know why she left. His emotions were building up inside him and he didn't want to show it to her.

She saw that the blood in his face was drained when she said it. She didn't know if it's the right thing to do. It was a pretty good day and she will say something like that. Maybe spilling little important bits of what she did after her 'death' pushed her to her limit. She hated the decision of leaving him but she had no choice back then and if she didn't start explaining right now, she may not have time for it later.

So she was about to tell him why she left when her front door slammed open and a loud voice announced her existence. "Mommy, I'm home!"

* * *

_I know what you're thinking... and that's not it. I'll give you a clue! The reason and her existence are not related. _

_Please review. I want to know what you think :) _

_And thanks for the reviews, favorites and alerts people! You're making my day! :D_


	6. Jill

**Jill**

* * *

_Three hours before he came back into her life…_

Jenny woke up at the sound of her alarm. She glanced up from her covers and smacked the annoying thing with neon numbers indicating that its 0600 already. She groaned. She only slept for two hours and if it wasn't for Jill, she would still be in bed right now. She pushed herself up and automatically walked down to the kitchen to prepare her little one's breakfast.

She pulled out a carton of milk and poured it in a green sippy cup and into a bowl of cereals. She decided that she will eat later and her daughter is her top priority right now. She walked upstairs and opened the room opposite of hers to wake up her little warrior.

Jillian's bedroom was not the usual three year old girl's bedroom. It was painted green since her daughter said that it was her favorite. There was a horizontal bookcase full of books in the far side of the room. There was a small desk beside it with a stack of papers, crayons and other crafty materials suitable for three year olds. There was a box full of toy guns including squirt guns and sniper rifles, shields and swords on the opposite side.

Much to her amusement, her little girl wanted to be like Lara Croft, hence the toy guns. It all started when she fell asleep on the couch during their second week in Stillwater and she forgot to turn off the TV. She didn't know that Jill woke up to find her and when Jill saw her sleeping, Jill didn't wake her up and just watch the replay of Tomb Raider. She woke up when she heard the cheers of her girl when Lara Croft defeated the robot. She smiled at the thought of how easily her daughter liked fighting bad guys. Maybe someday she'll be an NCIS agent too since she watched Emma Robert's Nancy Drew a couple of nights ago and it seemed like Jill loved the idea of detective work. She sighed. She really is _their_ daughter.

She sneaked into her daughter's bed and started planting kisses on her child's face to wake her up.

Little forest green eyes opened up. "Mommy!" She giggled. "Good Mornin'," she kissed her mother's cheek.

"Good Morning too, Sweetie!" She hugged her daughter. "Breakfast is ready after that you're going to take a bath." She told her the usual routine.

"No baths, Mommy…" she pleaded using her best puppy eyes.

"You have a ballet lesson remember…" It amuses her that Jill loves guns and swords but she loves dressing up and ballets too.

She gasped. "The Swan Lake!" She wiggled excitedly out of her arms and ran down the hall. She had been very excited about her first ballet recital and she doesn't want her mother to watch her practise so that she can surprise her mother once her mother saw the recital.

She checked her daughter downstairs and told she will just change clothes. She changed from her green lace nightie into a comfortable red sweater and khaki shorts.

After the little girl's bath, Jenny chose Jill's white leotard and tights and her blue tutu skirt. After making sure that everything that Jill needs is in her backpack, she drove off and dropped of Jill to her ballet lesson.

She kneeled down to meet the girl's eye level. "I'll be back in the house to get some sleep, is that okay with you, sweetie?"

"Yes, mommy" her little girl grinned and peck her cheek.

"But if I can't pick you up, I'll send Karen."

"Okay, Mommy! Bye!"

Jenny hugged her daughter and kissed the top of her head. "Bye baby"

* * *

Karen, Jill's babysitter, received a call a little after 0900 from Jenny. It was her day off but she didn't mind because Jenny said that she needs to buy groceries so she wouldn't be in time to pick up Jill.

The little girl wasn't surprised to find Karen on one of the benches outside the room.

"Hi Karen," she greeted her babysitter politely just like what her mother taught her.

"Hi munchkin," she took Jill's hand. "your mom's doing grocery but she called again to let you know that she's back in the house."

The drive back to the house was not so quiet since Jill told Karen all she did in her lesson. Once they've arrived to the house, Karen helped Jill get out of the booster seat and unlocked the front door.

A very excited Jill shouted, "Mommy, I'm home!"

* * *

When Jenny heard her daughter's voice, her mind stopped from what she was going to tell Jethro. "Wait here for a minute" she pointed down.

When she got out of the room, she greeted her daughter with a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetie, did you have fun?" she smiled and lifted her up.

Jill entwined her fingers around her mother's neck. "Yes, we have a new dance." She gave a toothy grin.

"That's good, sweetie." She kissed Jill's temple then turned to Karen. "Thank you for picking her up."

The younger brunette smiled and waved her hand. "No problem, Jenny. Just call if you need anything else. Bye munchkin!" Her index finger touched Jill's nose. She received a giggle from the three year old. She head out while Jenny and Jill was still standing at the doorway.

"Bye Karen!" Jill shouted and waved her hand when Karen was about to enter the car.

Jenny closed the door while balancing Jill in her arms. Her back was at the study. "Hey sweetie, I made peanut butter and jelly. You want some?"

Jill was nodding while grinning then she saw the man standing in the middle of the study. He had silver greyish hair and blue eyes. He was taller than her mom. He was dressed in a red hoodie and jeans. She creased her eyebrows and tilted her head the right to get a clearer view. She looked the man then at her mom then at the man again.

Jenny saw the confusion in her daughter's eyes. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Jill looked at Jenny again. "Mommy…" her little voice sounded unsure. She hesitated to continue. "Daddy's back," she pointed at the man who is now at the doorframe.

Gibbs's eyes widened. His throat went dry. His arms were loosely hung at his sides. Did she just call him Daddy? It's been way too long since a certain little girl addressed him that and it felt so good to hear it that it again from a different girl who looks like his other daughter and it seems unrealistic.

Jenny completely forgot that Jethro was in the study and that she left the door open. She turned around and found him standing at the doorway. She didn't know what was going on in his mind or what kind of emotion he is feeling.

She was lost in her train of thoughts when Jill called her again for reassurance, "Mommy?"

"Yeah sweetie, Daddy's back" she used her daughter's own words and smiled at her.

Jill squealed in delight and quickly jumped off Jenny. She ran towards her dad and hugged his leg.

Jethro didn't realize that he was holding his breath until he heard Jenny's words. The next thing he knew was that the little brunette girl – _his_ daughter – was hugging his leg. He picked her up and kissed her temple. He felt the sudden rush of love and protectiveness towards the girl in his arms. He hugged her tighter. "Hey sweetie," he used the term of endearment that Jenny uses since he didn't know her name.

He glanced at Jenny to seek for help. He pushed aside the other questions that were bothering him. He decided to save it for later. There are a lot of things that he and Jenny needed to talk about.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him lift her – _their _daughter up and showed affection towards her. When she heard him used the word 'sweetie', she forgot that Jethro didn't know anything about Jill, even her existence. She saw the unspoken question in his eyes when he glanced at her. She decided to answer him without obviously giving it to him.

"Jill," she called and her daughter looked at her, waiting for the continuation while Jethro nodded once, "I'll serve the sandwiches in a moment. Stay with Daddy," she didn't realized that she just called him Daddy naturally. She caught him grinned when she was about to walk towards the kitchen.

Jethro saw that Jenny surprised herself by calling him Daddy. He was thankful that she gave him an excuse to spend a moment alone with his beautiful daughter. He felt a bit of ashamed to ask this but it just came out of his lips. "How did you know I'm your Daddy?" he whispered.

"Mommy talks about you," she whispered too, "everyday," she added.

His grin grew wider if that was possible, "really?"

She nodded with the same grin like her mother's, "really. She gave me your picture."

"Can I see it?"

She showed him a small locket around her neck. He opened it with one hand while the other was supporting Jill. On the right was a picture of Jill and Jenny while on the left was a picture of him and Jenny in Paris. He didn't know how the hell did Jenny make the picture smaller.

Jenny called them to come because the snacks are ready. But before they went there, he needed to tell her his plan. "Hey jellybean," he decided to choose that term of endearment for her and she seemed to like since she giggled. "tell me what mommy told you about me, okay?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded.

"But don't tell mom,"

Jenny heard that last part when she came in the hallway. "I left you for five minutes and you already have secrets that I shouldn't know about." She narrowed her eyes at Jethro and placed her hands on her hips.

He shook his head, "Nope. No secrets."

Jill mimicked him with the same intonation, "Nope. No secrets."

"Now she's already on your side!" she threw her hands in the air for exaggeration. Jill just keeps on giggling.

* * *

They were eating their sandwiches while Jill told them about her ballet lesson and recital. Jill was between her parents.

"Daddy, you will come in my recital, right?" she tried her best puppy eyes to convince her daddy to come.

"Of course jellybean," he smirked.

She squealed in her high chair and gave her daddy a sloppy kiss. She bit her sandwich again and there was jelly left on the corner of her mouth. Both of her parents tried to wipe it at the same and their thumbs brush off each other's. She quickly pulled away as if she was burned. She felt like a hormonal teenager for blushing when she touched a little bit of his skin although they were holding hands in front his father for quite some time just an hour ago.

"Sweetie, it's your afternoon nap time already. Do you want Daddy to tuck you in?" She knew Jethro and Jill would want to so it's a perfect excuse to be alone to recollect herself.

"Yes, Mommy!"

Jenny kissed her temple. "Okay sweetie," she nodded to a grinning Jethro. Looks like Jill's presence made Jethro grin more than he did in a year.

Jill held up her hands at her father and he happily obliged her daughter' wants.

* * *

He was holding Jill in his arm when he entered the room. He made a mental note to ask Jen why their three year old daughter has toy weapons in her room. He changed Jill's ballet clothes into a comfortable blouse and pants then tucked her in.

"Could you tell me now what mommy told you about me?" He asked while he slipped his arm around his daughter. She was resting her head just above his heart and he was rubbing her back.

"Mommy says you're a soldier before…" she yawned. "and now you fight the bad guys." She really was relaxing with her father. "She says you love me." She looked up at him with her droopy green eyes. "Do you love me Daddy?"

"I love you, jellybean." He pointed at her nose then kissed her head.

"I think I love you too." She yawned again. Her eyes were starting to close. "Mommy says she loves –" Her little voice faltered. He wanted to know what she was going to say but he thought that maybe Jill got tired in her ballet lesson. He kissed her head once again and hugged her before he leave. He saw in the corner of his eyes the picture of him. He looked at it closely and he was surprised that it was the three of them. The original photo was his and Jenny's picture in London and Jill's recent picture was inserted between their hugging forms. He gave a one last look at his daughter before he got out.

He found Jenny in the hallway with her arms around herself. "We need to talk," they said in unison.

* * *

_I'm so thankful for your reviews people! I hope you like Jill and her interests. She has Jenny's eyes and Gibbs' brunette hair :)_


	7. Boo boo

A/N: Contains _some_ rated T words

**Boo-boo…**

* * *

_"We need to talk," they said in unison._

Jenny preferred that they talk downstairs in the living room. Jethro followed her and glanced at Jill's room for the last time before he descended the stairs. Jenny made a left turn and sat on the soft white couch.

Jethro scanned her living room. Compared to the dark, leather and business ambiance of her study, the living room was quite the opposite. The room was full of solid shades of white except for the walls. The walls were royal blue with white accent. The carpet was beige. The fireplace was made of white bricks on the opposite side of the hallway.

He saw Jenny sitting on a white couch on the right side of the room. Her elbows rested on her knees while her hand had a fistful of her chestnut brown hair. He chose to sit on ottoman on the left side of the couch and dragged it so he could sit in front of her.

He was the one who spoke first, "Jenny," he tried to gain her attention softly.

Though there's softness in his voice, she still looked startled. She was completely lost in her train of thoughts. "Jethro… I don't know where to start." She admitted truthfully. There were a lot of things that she didn't tell him and there are still some things that she doesn't want to tell him.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Tell me something about Jill." It seemed to be that it's the easiest way to begin with.

She smiled at the thought of her daughter – _their _daughter. She still can't believe that he knows now that they have a daughter. It was just yesterday and last night when she told Jill that she and Jethro went to see the Eiffel Tower a long time ago. "She's a really smart kid and she loves extracurricular activities."

"Like her ballet," he supplied.

She nodded. "That's just one of her activities."

He knit his brows in confusion. "She has more?"

"She started her piano lessons two months ago. She had swimming lessons last summer and she has art classes after daycare." She proudly said it.

"Looks like we have a little overachiever," there was a smug look in his face as if he wanted to tell the world how lucky he is to have a daughter like her. Then, he thought through what she said again. "Wait, did you say swimming?"

She rolled her eyes. "Jethro, is your hearing as bad as your eyesight?" She teased.

"Jen," he warned "what if she drowned?" he voiced out his fears.

"Did you think that I would let her drown, Jethro?" Her voice was increasing. She stood up and put her hands on her hips.

He stood up too. He wouldn't let her have the higher ground. "I was just worried, Jen." He replayed back.

"Well, I would never let her swim if it's not safe. I'm worried about her too, Jethro! I don't want her to be in danger _again_!" She bit her lip. _Damn it!_ She slipped. That's exactly what she didn't want him to know. She saw his eyes grew angry.

"What? In danger _again_! Tell me what happened Jenny!" He was just few inches in front of her. "Was she used as _leverage_ with your current op? Did somebody hurt her?" he really raised his voice this time but Jenny didn't even flinch under his glare.

"No." her voice was icy cold. She gave him the matching glare that he was giving her.

Her right eye didn't twitched. That's good enough for him. "Then what the hell happened?" he gritted his teeth.

She really hated this feeling of being interrogated by Gibbs. "She almost drowned last year when she chase then tried to save a puppy in the lake." She kept her emeralds staring into his sapphires though the news was bad. Really bad.

"What! You let our daughter chase a puppy into a lake!"He turned around while wiping his hand on his face. He can't believe she did that. That was so careless.

"It was an accident Jethro! She was beside me. I turned my back for a second then she was running off to the lake." She tried to explain but she knew he wouldn't hear a word she said and just blame her for her carelessness.

"You turned your back?" he snorted sarcastically. "You should never turn your back when the kid's at that age."He scolded her as if she's his probie ding a probie mistake and broke a rule. "This wouldn't happen if you told me about Jill in the first place!"

She quickly strode two steps towards him and gave him a right hook.

He did not see that coming but he ignored the pain.

She managed to give him a cut and scratch due to her rings on her right hand.

"Do not –" She slammed a closed fist on his chest. "God, Jethro!" She pointed her index finger at him. "You don't know everything that I did to protect her all the time. I did want to tell you but I'll put your life at risk too!" She turned her back at him and slumped at the couch. Her elbows laid on top of her knees again and her arms were lousily hanging forward. She bowed down her head.

He couldn't see her face through that curtain of brown hair. He took a step forward to comfort her. He didn't know that she was only protecting him by not involving him.

She heard him took a step. She didn't change her position when she spoke. "Do not go near me, _Gibbs_!" her voice cracked. Ever since they reunited again, she never called him Gibbs until now and it just meant that he really hurt her so badly by what he said.

He was just angry but not to her. He was angry at the situation, Jill's accident and their situation right now. Their situation was more complicated than before because here's a child involve now. Their child will be involved in anything they say and do to each other. And besides he just said that to her to release all those anger. He knew that he could never get angry at her though they always kill each other by using words.

He had nothing to do but let her alone. She needed space and he needed it too. He was already on his way to reach the front door's doorknob when he heard her small soft voice.

"Daddy, you're leaving me?" her voice sounded hurt. He turned around and saw her at the top of the stairs. Their shouts must've wakened her. He wanted to headslap himself for that. He took two steps at a time to reach her faster. He saw her tears on her cheeks. She was clutching her blanket.

He quickly enveloped her into his arms. "No, no, Jill. I won't leave you." He assured her or more likely he assured himself. Shannon and Kelly died after he left to save his country. He wouldn't leave Jenny and Jill now just to save his damn pride. He released her from his hug.

She saw the bruising on his left cheek along with the cut and scratches. She gasped loudly. She touched it. "Daddy, you have a boo-boo" her soft delicate hand hadn't even caused him pain because f the numbness that is growing inside.

He just nodded. He didn't know how to explain to his daughter that her mommy punched her daddy because he's being an ass.

"Mommy should kiss it." She wiggled out of his arms and ran down the stairs. Her father was hot on her heels.

"Don't run, Jill!" he ordered but she didn't listen.

She found her mommy on the couch. She ran to her mother. "Mommy! Mommy! Kiss Daddy's boo-boo!" She already slammed to her mother's side before Jenny could look up to see her daughter.

"Hey sweetie," she smiled to hide the silent tears that fell on her cheeks.

Apparently, Jill saw the shadows of her mommy's tears. "You're crying again, Mommy." She cupped her mother's cheek and her other hand brushed off the tear that fell again.

"I'm okay, sweetie." She tried to convince her. She wrapped her arms around her baby and rested her head on the crook of Jill's neck. This always does the trick to make her feel better. Jill is her only medication now to soothe the pain.

Jill wrapped her small arms around Jenny's neck. "You will be okay, Mommy." She always tells her mother that every time she catches her mother crying. "Daddy's here. You don't have to cry anymore."She said innocently. Jenny didn't expect that last part. It was Jill who pulled away. Both emeralds were reflecting at each other. "Mommy, Daddy has boo-boo. Kiss to be better." She seriously _ordered_ and pointed at her daddy who was standing at the doorway and completely shocked at the whole mother and daughter thing.

Jenny stared at her daughter blankly then at the man she punched then back to her daughter again who wants her to kiss the man that she punched. Should she do it? She knew she could just give him a peck on the cheek but he hurt her then she hurt him. She was the reason that she's in an awkward situation right now. She regretted punching Jethro.

He inhaled deeply. He knew Jenny shouldn't be in that position. He knew that Jenny shouldn't be forced to kiss his 'boo-boo' because their daughter says so. To settle the awkwardness, "Jill, my boo-boo is okay. Mommy doesn't have to kiss my boo-boo if she doesn't want to." He said truthfully.

"No!" Their child was just as stubborn as her parents. "Mommy kiss your boo-boo Daddy!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

"But Jill –" Jethro started again and he swore his daughter glared at him.

"Okay, Jill. I'll do it. Just stop doing _that_." She pointed at her daughter's posture and glare. She sighed and stood up from the couch. She walked towards him. Still contemplating if it's the right thing to do. But if it's wrong they could always blame the child's orders and forget it.

She stopped in front of him and gently cupped his face. When she had a good look at what she had done, she gasped. "Oh no…" She didn't know that she cut and scratched his skin on top of his bruise. Her guilt was all over her face.

Jethro saw her reaction. He quickly held her on her upper arms. "Hey, this is not your fault." He assured her.

She shook her head. Of course it's her fault. Her smooth hand touched his bruise. He grunted for a little. "I should give you an ice." She quickly head to the kitchen but he grabbed her arm. She furrowed her brows at him. He pointed their girl. "Oh right," she remembered.

Her left hand caressed his right cheek. She tiptoed and pecked his left cheek. Her peck took longer than three seconds.

It felt so good to have her lips against his skin again so after she pulled away, he grabbed her at her waist and pulled herself to him and collided his lips to hers. She moaned and responded back. He had a fistful of her hair and the other was on her back while she wrapped around her arms around his neck. Before they could get in a more passionate kiss, they were interrupted by their very active and smart girl.

"Mommy, I says boo-boo. That's not boo-boo!" She annoyingly whined.

They both ended it and rested their forehead at each other and smiled at their daughter's antics.

* * *

_Thanks for the reviews! I hope you liked it. It's 3 am and I need to get up at 6 am. Sorry if it's not that good. I tried my best. Sweet dreams :)_


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